The United Arab Emirates national football team ( ar, منتخب الإمارات العربية المتحدة لكرة القدم) represents
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
in international
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and serves under the auspices of the country's
Football Association.
It has made one
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
appearance in
1990 in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and lost all three of its games. United Arab Emirates took fourth place in the
1992 Asian Cup and runner-up in
1996 as host. It won the
Arabian Gulf Cup in
2007 and
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. It finished third in the
2015 AFC Asian Cup and hosted the
2019 edition in which it was eliminated in the semi-finals.
History
The first match of the team was played on 17 March 1972 against
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
at
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير فيصل بن فهد) (formerly the Malab Reayat Al Shabab Stadium, ملعب رعاية الشباب بالرياض) is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by arch ...
and won with the only goal scored by Ahmed Chowbi. Then, the team faced three other Arabian countries, losing 4–0 and 7–0 to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
respectively and beating
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
3 to nothing. After participating in four
Gulf Cup tournaments since 1972, United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the
1982 edition. It again finished third as did in the two previous tournaments.
In
1980, United Arab Emirates first-time qualified for the
AFC Asian Cup which was held in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
and were drawn with eventual winners, Kuwait, runner-up
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
in Group B. It drew 1–1 with Kuwait and lost the three other matches and finished in fifth place in the group and ninth (out of ten teams) overall. It also qualified for the next two tournaments,
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
and was again eliminated in the group stages in both. Its first victory of the tournament occurred against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on 7 December 1984, under manager
Heshmat Mohajerani.
In 1984, Mohajerani resigned and was replaced with
Carlos Alberto Parreira
Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national te ...
. Parreira led the team at the 1988 Asian Cup and left his position after the tournament. He was succeeded by
Mário Zagallo. Zagallo led the team to the qualification for the
1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. However, Zagallo resigned before the tournament and Parreira returned. The team finished fourth at the 1990 World Cup's final tournament with no points, scoring two goals and conceding 11 goals. The journey was put into a 2016 documentary titled ''Lights of Rome''.
After the tournament, Parreira was sacked.
At the
1992 and
1996 Asian Cups, United Arab Emirates finished fourth and second respectively for the first times. United Arab Emirates appeared in the
1997 FIFA Confederations Cup after being awarded a spot because Saudi Arabia was hosting the games.
United Arab Emirates missed the
qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for the
2000 AFC Asian Cup
The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan def ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
and finished in last place at the
2002 Gulf Cup in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. It was eliminated in the next three Asian Cup tournaments at the group stage. In
2004 and
2007 editions, UAE was all eliminated by the hand to debutants
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. In
2011, it finished the tournament goalless. At this time, coaches that managed the Emirates included
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...
,
Roy Hodgson and
Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag.
Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stint ...
. In 2006, UAE appointed
Bruno Metsu as the new manager. He led the Emirates to the
2007 Gulf Cup title.
After hiring foreign coaches, in 2012, United Arab Emirates appointed the
Olympic team coach
Mahdi Ali as the manager of the senior team. Ali began creating a squad inviting players that he had worked with at the youth level. He led the Emirates to their second
Gulf Cup title in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. At the
2015 AFC Asian Cup, United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar 4–1 and Bahrain 2–1 and lost to Iran by a goal. As group runner-up, it faced the defending champions
Japan in the quarter-final and earned a victory on penalties to advance to the last four. In the semi-finals, it lost 2–0 to the host
Australia. In the third-place play-off, it beat
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
3–2. United Arab Emirates qualified through the
AFC qualification where it finished fourth in
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
thus failing to qualify for the
2018 FIFA World Cup.
Ahmed Khalil
Ahmed Khalil Sebait Mubarak Al-Junaibi ( ar, أحمد خليل سبيت مبارك الجنيبي; born 8 June 1991) is an UAE, Emirati Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Al Bataeh Club, ...
was a top scorer in the qualification. Around this time Mahdi Ali resigned from his position.
The Emirates hosted the
2019 Asian Cup, this marked the second time they hosted an
AFC Asian Cup. The team had
Alberto Zaccheroni
Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams.
He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...
as a coach. In the Asian Cup tournament, UAE proceeded to the quarter-finals where it scored its first-ever goal against Australia to gain its first-ever win against this opponent. The semi-finals was between the host and Qatar. Some audiences threw footwear in the pitch after Qatar scored its second goal. UAE lost 0–4 marking its first defeat to Qatar since 2001.
United Arab Emirates joined the
second round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers and was placed with all-out
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
n opponents. The team had already appointed the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
guider
Bert van Marwijk. Bert was sacked after his start undergoing two away losses to Thailand and Vietnam in the qualifiers along his group stage exit in the
24th Arabian Gulf Cup
The 24th Arabian Gulf Cup was the 24th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. Eight teams participated in the tournament.
On 15 July 2019, the AGCFF announced that the tourna ...
. After this, the Emirates decided to naturalize Argentine
Sebastián Tagliabúe, Brazilian
Caio Canedo Corrêa and
Fábio Virginio de Lima, the three South American players, having never done so since the foundation of the national team. The team then experienced a period of coaching instabilities, with three different coaches, before van Marwijk resumed his duty due to crisis in option. With the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
however, the AFC decided the remaining games of the second round would be played in one country, and the United Arab Emirates were able to utilise the advantage as the host nation, ultimately u-turned the earlier misery into four consecutive wins to break through into the
third round
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
, where they faced its neighbours and the powerhouses
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. In the third round, the UAE failed to produce a promising performance after winning just one out of six first games, a 1–0 away win over Lebanon, drew three and lost two, adding with the UAE's below average performance in the
2021 FIFA Arab Cup
The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup () was the 10th edition of the Arab Cup, the Arab world's national team football tournament; it was the first edition under FIFA's jurisdiction. It took place between 30 November and 18 December in Qatar, as a pre ...
despite reaching the quarter-finals, that was enough to sack the Dutch manager van Marwijk yet again. After inconsistency in performance, the UAE appointed Argentine manager
Rodolfo Arruabarrena as coach, and the team's result improved, winning two out of four games, notably an impressive 1–0 home win over already-qualified South Korea, to reach the
fourth round
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
, increased hope for the country to qualify for the first-ever World Cup since 1990, where they would face the old foe Australia, whom the UAE defeated in the latest meeting. However, the UAE was unable to utilise their geographical advantage in the playoff in neighbouring Qatar, losing 1–2 to Australia by a thunderous strike at 84' by
Ajdin Hrustic to deny the UAE's its potential second appearance; they later stunned South America's rising power
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
to qualify for the edition.
Rivalries
UAE's common rivals are
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
, and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Qatar
The rivalry with Qatar is a competitive one in the
Arabian Gulf Cup meeting in multiple occasions, due to
Qatar diplomatic crisis, increasing tensions had been witnessed, with the captain of UAE under-19 youth team refused to shake hands with Qatar's youth captain in
2018 AFC U-19 Championship
The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship was the 40th edition of the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. It took place in Indonesia, which was ...
held in Indonesia; in this tournament, the UAE beat Qatar 2–1 but still crashed out from the group stage while Qatar would recover to qualify for the
2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. As of 2020, Qatar and UAE have played 31 official matches, most of which was held competitively in the
Arabian Gulf Cup, it started off with the United Arab Emirates beating Qatar 1–0. They only played 2 friendly games and the last friendly was held in 2011 which ended with an Emirati victory. In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, hosted by the UAE, Qatar overran the UAE for the first time since 2001 with the result 4–0, with heavy tensions and violence occurred between two and Emirati supporters cheering anti-Qatari chants.
Saudi Arabia
Another major rival the UAE takes on Arabian Gulf Cup many times, the two teams have met in the AFC Asian Cup twice, first in the semi finals of the 1992 edition which ended in a Saudi victory and second in the final of the 1996 edition in which UAE hosted, the game ended in a goalless draw which meant the game had to be decided in penalties, the game ended with Saudi Arabia taking home their 3rd title with the penalty scoreline being 4–2, this remains the only time the Emirates qualified for the final meanwhile this would also be the last time the Saudis would win an Asian Cup as they would lose the next two finals they qualified for in 2000 and 2007. When the countries meet in qualifier matches, the matchup has been nicknamed "clash of titans" as both countries have been some of the more successful teams in the Arabian Peninsula.
Nicknames
The United Arab Emirates is known by supporters and the media as ''Al-Abyad'', meaning The Whites which reference to their white jersey and also ''Eyal
Zayed'' which means Zayed's sons.
In October 2012, the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
official website published an article about the UAE national team's campaign to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, in which the team was referred to using the racial slur "sand monkey". This was the indirect result of vandalism of the
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
article on the team, and the AFC was forced to apologise.
Stadium
As of 2022, UAE has played in 11 home stadiums. Most games have taken place at
Sheikh Zayed Stadium in
Abu Dhabi with Abu Dhabi's
Al Jazira Stadium and
Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
The Hazza bin Zayed Stadium ( ar, اِسْتَاد هَزَّاع بِن زَايِد, Istād Hazzāʿ Bin Zāyid) is a multi-purpose stadium, located in the City of Al Ain, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the home stadium of Al ...
in
Al Ain as other venues.
Kit
The UAE's traditional home kit is all white with some red trim while their away kit is all red with some white trim, in 2019, the away colors were black for the first time in addition, there were some green trim.
Results and fixtures
2022
2023
Current staff
''Last Update: February 2022''
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the
friendlies against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
on November 16, and
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
on November 19.
''Caps and goals as of 19 November 2022, after the match against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.''
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.
RET
SUS Suspended
INJ Withdrew from the squad due to an injury
PRE Preliminary squad
RET Retired from international association football
List of UAE squads
;FIFA World Cup
*
1990 World Cup squad
;FIFA Confederations Cup
*
1997 Confederations Cup squad
;AFC Asian Cup
*
1980 Asian Cup squad
*
1984 Asian Cup squad
*
1988 Asian Cup squad
*
1992 Asian Cup squad
*
1996 Asian Cup squad
*
2004 Asian Cup squad
*
2007 Asian Cup squad
*
2011 Asian Cup squad
*
2015 Asian Cup squad
* 2019 AFC Asian Cup squads#United Arab Emirates, 2019 Asian Cup squad
Player records
:''Players in bold are still active with United Arab Emirates.''
Most appearances
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
Champion Runners-up Third place
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup
FIFA Confederations Cup
Asian Games
Gulf Cup
FIFA Arab Cup
Pan Arab Games
Other Tournaments
Head-to-head record
''As of 19 November 2022''
Honours
Continental Competitions
*
AFC Asian Cup
:''Runner-up (1):''
1996
:''Third place (1):'' 2015 AFC Asian Cup, 2015
:''Fourth place (1):''
1992
:''Semi-finals (1):'' 2019 AFC Asian Cup, 2019
Regional Competitions
* FIFA Arab Cup
:''Fourth place (1):'' 1998 Arab Cup, 1998
*
Arabian Gulf Cup
:''Winners (2):'' 2007 Gulf Cup of Nations, 2007, 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations, 2013
:''Runner-up (4):'' 1986 Gulf Cup of Nations, 1986, 1988 Gulf Cup of Nations, 1988, 1994 Gulf Cup of Nations, 1994, 2017 Gulf Cup of Nations, 2017
Minor Competitions
* Friendship Tournament
:''Winners (2)'' 1996 Friendship Tournament, 1996, 1998 Friendship Tournament, 1998
* Kirin Cup
:''Winners (1):'' Kirin Cup, 2005
* OSN Cup
:''Winners (1):'' 2013 OSN Cup, 2013
* LG Cup (association football), LG Cup
:''Winners (1):'' 2000
* Oman Cup
:''Winners (1):'' 2000
Notes
References
External links
UAE Football Association official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Arab Emirates National Football Team
United Arab Emirates national football team,
Asian national association football teams
1972 establishments in the United Arab Emirates